Spoiler alert: Don't read on if you haven't watched the first six episodes of Game of Thrones season two, with episode six shown on HBO at 9pm ET on 6 May and Sky Atlantic at 9pm BST on 7 May. We also want to avoid book spoilers.

'A man is what others say he is and no more'

Ah, the importance of reputation. This was an episode concerned with the differences between how characters perceive themselves and how they are in turn perceived. Thus Xaro, outwardly smiling and inwardly scheming, is able to plot his takeover of Qarth because he presented the 13 with a false view of himself as someone pleased with having risen so far and no further. By contrast, Dany discovered that without her dragons she's back where she started, the beggar Queen across the water, only a pawn in their game.

Over in Westeros, Theon believes it 'is better to be cruel than weak' failing to consider than cruelty can be just as often viewed as weakness – the sick look on his face when the bodies dangled above him at the end of the episode suggesting that he now knows all too well that this is not a game.

In contrast, the pragmatic Tywin knows all to well that reputations are made and lost in battle. His clear-eyed assessment that this was the war by which his legacy would stand or fall was fascinating, as was his acknowledgment that 'Aegon changed the rules, that's why he's remembered.'

For Jaime, who lost his reputation long ago, what others think of him is apparently irrelevant; unusually among Westerosi he appears secure in his perception of himself. He's either truly unconcerned by what the opinions of others, or very, very good at giving that impression. Yet while Jaime might be playing, Sandor Clegane certainly isn't. His discussion with Sansa about the joy provided by killing was brutal in its honesty and cynicism.

Robb and Jon also learnt about the importance of reputation. Jon's reputation rests on his vows, but will he remain a man of the Night's Watch now he is in Wilding hands? Similarly Robb is the King in the North, but as the confrontation between Catelyn Stark and Rickard Karstark made all too clear, that title comes with a price, and it may not be one that his bannermen will continue to pay.

'You have forgotten every vow you ever took'

For all Jaime's faults – sleeping with his sister, crippling small children, strangling innocent cousins and watchmen – there's still something very appealing about the elder Lannister brother. It's not just Nikolaj Coster-Waldau's charismatic performance, good though it is, it's that the character recognises his flaws, owns up to them and lives with them. The two scenes with poor, unlucky Alton Lannister and Catelyn Stark illustrated this perfectly, while reawakening last season's suspicions that Jaime's fatalism is driven by the fact he is more than half in love with death.

Jaime wasn't the only Lannister letting down his guard this week. We were also given a glimpse into Cersei's fears as she finally confessed Joffrey is a monster. There was something almost unbearably touching about Tyrion's almost decision to touch his sister after the admission, even as he recognised such a step would be more than she could bear.

In a fairly Lannister heavy episode, there was still time for another great scene between Tywin and Ayra. I particularly loved the moment when she considered slitting his throat. These scenes are definitely among the best written in the show, although it's a worrying side affect that I find myself slightly in love with the pragmatic, realistic Tywin, monster though he clearly is.

'You know nothing Jon Snow'

I don't know about the rest of you but I rather love the portrayal of Ygritte as the sort of stroppy Northern lass you might bump into around closing time near the bars of Deansgate. Rose Leslie was good again this week and the conversations about freedom were very well done. It's always been an interesting issue that the Night's Watch are simultaneously the realm's protectors and its oppressors and Kit Harrington did a good job of conveying Jon's dawning confusion as he considered his captive's point.

Additional Thoughts

I have some strong suspicions about Dagmar Cleftjaw after this week's episode. We only have his word for it that he is who he says and it's worth noting that Asha, who would know all the Ironborn, never met him. I may be wrong but I think there's more to the flinty looking former Finchy than meets the eye.

I was happy to see Dany acknowledge Irri's death and talk about how she'd bought death to her Khalasar. I also thought Xaro's comment about people from the margins seizing the centre was an interesting one. After all it's all very well for Dany to name herself the rightful Queen but as she pointed out to Jorah nobody in Westeros even knows that she's alive…

Talking of Jorah that was a very interesting piece of phrasing from Qaithe. In season one it was mentioned by Varys that Jorah wrote to him and thus to Robert but I was intrigued to find out that the mysterious Quaithe knows of the betrayal.

Shae is beginning to grow on me. Her willingness to help Sansa was touching and it was cheering to see that she's a dab hand with both knife and threats, even if both came to naught.

I thoroughly enjoyed this episode, quite possibly because Littlefinger didn't randomly pop up to dispense honeyed advice at any point. I still miss Varys, however. Even a little scene of him whispering cryptically would bring me some cheer.

Violence Count

Another very violent episode – which I think is probably what I'm going to say every week from now until the end of this season – saw one attempt by Theon to beat a henchman, one human hunt, one punched farmer and the brutal murder and dipping in tar of two boys. In King's Landing we witnessed Sansa's nightmares about her near-rape and Shae's threats to a serving girl, then headed to the Riverlands to see Jaime beat his cousin to death before being beaten and repeatedly threatened with death himself. Finally across the narrow sea in Qarth, Dany watched the 13 get their throats slit thanks to the unholy alliance between Pyat Pree and Xaro.

Nudity Count

The nudity count apparently drops as the violence count rises with this week more concerned with Ygritte's attempts to needle Jon, although we did the chance to see the mysterious Qaithe practise her tattooing arts.

Random Brit of the Week

Karl Davies, aka Emmerdale's Robert Sugden, popped up to remind us why hero worship is a particularly bad idea in Westeros, swopping tourney tales with his cousin Jaime before meeting a brutal and untimely end.

So what did you think? Were you happy to see Jaime again? Did you miss Littlfinger? What about Varys? Can Tyrion and Cersei save the realm fromJoffrey? Is Theon right or wrong about cruelty being better than weakness? Are you also half in love with Tywin despite your better judgement? At the very least do you agree with him that the Brotherhood of Banners is a damn pretentious name for a bunch of outlaws…